


some stories don't need to be written (just listen)

by sunshinefleur



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Fluff, M/M, Superpowers, tattooist!jeno, they are just Very Good Friends, this looks like a nomin but i promise it is Not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27574892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinefleur/pseuds/sunshinefleur
Summary: jeno thought having his powers was the one thing he could rely on. that is, until he met donghyuck.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51
Collections: '00 FIC FEST ROUND TWO





	some stories don't need to be written (just listen)

**Author's Note:**

> #00352: Jeno can read people’s mind the moment he locks eyes with them. To his surprise, he can’t seem to get anything out of the head of this cute boy who is now looking at him endearingly. “Do you know what I’m thinking about right now?”, the sunkissed boy asks and Jeno freezes.

honestly, jeno was a bit disappointed. he was itching to get his hands on a tattoo machine and lose himself in his art, but it’d been a slow day. the only people to come into the shop all day had been customers for the other artists, and they’d gone in and out pretty quickly. usually, jeno would be able to at least do a few piercings, but his one piercing appointment of the day had cancelled on him. well, he supposed, it wasn’t the worst problem to have. the parlor paid him an hourly salary on top of his individual commissions, so it wasn’t like he was losing money. he was just…  _ bored _ . 

he sighed and made his way to the back room, deciding to take an (incredibly) early lunch break. he nearly dropped his sandwich when he heard the bell above the door chime, signaling the arrival of a new customer, but relaxed when he heard taeil chirp their standard greeting: “hello, and welcome to balance tattoo and piercing parlor! what can we do for you today?”

however, he didn’t get more than a moment of peace before taeil burst into the break room, a grin splitting his face in half. “it’s jaemin.”

jeno scrambled out of his chair, rushing to the front counter. “what do you  _ mean  _ it’s jaemin, why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“i was playing solitaire when he came in, sorry!” taeil shouted after jeno.

jaemin had barely even registered that jeno had entered the room before he was being tackled to the ground in a bear hug. “ _ oof,  _ hello to you too,” he laughed as jeno only snuggled closer into him as a response. 

“you were gone for a month! let me show my best friend that i’m happy he’s back,” jeno pouted but couldn’t hold back his smile of sheer joy.

“look, i’m happy to be back too, but maybe we could do this somewhere other than the floor of your tattoo parlor?”

  1. well, jaemin was right. jeno peeled himself away from his still grinning friend and situated himself, quite professionally, if he may add, behind the counter again. “hello, and welcome to balance tattoo and piercing parlor! what can we do for you today?”



jaemin rolled his eyes. “dork. anyway, this is my friend, donghyuck. he’s looking to get a tattoo so, obviously, i had to bring him here. you guys always know just how to satisfy your customers somehow.” he winked. 

jeno glared back, but it didn’t have much bite behind it. jaemin was one of the few people who’d earned his trust enough to know about his powers, so he knew that jaemin would never deliberately put him in danger by revealing too much. 

“well, you’ve definitely come to the right place,” jeno rummaged through the drawer under the counter, looking for a pencil and paper before finally meeting donghyuck’s eyes, and being pleasantly surprised when he did. there was something about donghyuck he almost couldn’t resist. maybe it was his sense of style (dressed in a plain black button down, jeans, and rosy sunglasses perched on his head, donghyuck definitely wasn’t hard on the eyes), or the gentle smile that danced across his lips, but jeno had to physically force himself to refocus.  _ professionalism _ .

however, donghyuck also made jeno slightly uneasy. realistically, there was no way for him to know much about jeno, right? they’d just met, and he doubted that jaemin had talked about him much. so why was donghyuck looking at him like that?

“right!” jeno finally brought himself back to the task at hand. “did you have a design…” he paused. something wasn’t right. “...in mind?” odd. jeno usually didn’t have to ask. 

there it was again, that knowing look. “yeah, actually,” donghyuck reached into his pocket and pulled out a surprisingly crisp piece of paper. “i know it’ll probably take a lot of upkeep, but i’ve been thinking about getting this for a while.”

jeno studied the design carefully, marvelling at the complexity of it. it wasn’t particularly delicate, opting for thick, bold lines instead of anything subtler, but they wove in and out of each other with a certain fluidity to them, almost like the lines were actual water on the page. if he was being honest, he was slightly upset at donghyuck’s choice of tattoo, because it definitely wasn’t something jeno would be able to do for him, but, maybe that was a good thing. he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t still slightly shaken. 

“hey, taeil?” jeno called over his shoulder. “come take a look at this, i think you’d be a better fit here than i would.”

“oh, wow, you’re probably right,” taeil took one look at the paper and started moving to his end of the counter. “donghyuck, how about you come with me? we’ll iron out some of the details for you and set up an appointment.”

“sounds good! just give me one second?” donghyuck turned to jeno. “it was really nice to meet you, you’ve been  _ on my mind _ ever since jaemin started talking about you.” and with a smirk, he was gone.

“jaemin,” jeno started lowly. “what’s going on here? how much did you tell him?”

“i told him… enough,” jaemin’s eyes glinted mischievously. “you know i wouldn’t hurt you, just trust me on this one?” he threw in a little pout for good measure, and jeno cracked.  _ damn you, jaemin.  _

“fine,” he sighed. “but you know what’s at risk, so no funny business.”

jaemin’s face softened a bit. “i know, jen. your safety’s always first, i promise.”

“jeno, could you schedule donghyuck in for me? my computer’s being a bitch,” taeil’s voice snapped the men away from each other as donghyuck headed back over to them. 

“yeah, no problem! when’s it for?”

“tomorrow at two, he’ll tell you the rest,” taeil clapped him on the shoulder as he headed back to take his break. 

“sorry about that, i hope you don’t  _ mind _ having a little extra work to do,” donghyuck leaned on the counter, resting his chin on his hands and with a slight pout on his lips as he blinked up at jeno. well. if donghyuck was going to be like this, maybe jeno could have some fun too.

“not at all! i’ll do anything for a customer, especially if they’re cute,” jeno beamed. “anyway, did taeil give you an estimated duration?”

donghyuck grinned back. oh, this was fun. “yep, three hours.”

“only one appointment?”

“yeah, he thinks he can get it done in one sitting. though, i wouldn’t  _ mind  _ coming back if it took longer.”

“really? and why’s that?”

“well, that’s for me to know and you to not find out, isn’t it?” donghyuck smirked and looked down at his watch. “anyway, i have to get going, see you tomorrow! thanks for bringing me here nana, you’re the best.” and with that, he was off. 

“hey, donghyuck,” jeno called after him. 

“hm?”

“ _ mind _ the step on your way out.”

donghyuck smiled. “got it.” the bell above the door jingled again as he stepped out into the street.

“dude,” jaemin couldn’t hide his shock. “what was  _ that _ ? what happened to being careful? i didn’t even know you had it in you to be that… whatever that was.”

“i don’t know, it kinda just happened,” he shrugged. “but seriously, what’s up with him? i can’t read him at  _ all, _ it was so weird to have to ask that many questions.”

“ah, well, i don’t really think that’s my story to tell,” jaemin brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “you’ll find out eventually, it’s not a huge deal.”

“uh, okay, i guess i won’t ask then.”

“and you better not try any of your tricks either, this mind isn’t yours to read,” jaemin teased.

jeno put up his hands in mock surrender. “alright, alright, i get it. but if you can’t tell me that, then can you at least tell me about how your trip was? i wanna hear  _ everything _ .” 

“you’re on break, right?”

“taeil, am i-”

“go ahead, you two. i’ll see you guys tomorrow,” taeil waved them off, knowing that he could easily hold down the empty shop with mark and doyoung. “just stay safe, you know the drill.”

jaemin saluted taeil before dragging jeno out from behind the counter. “thanks boss, we’ll be good!”

“boss? you don’t even work here!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“...so then the ship tilted literally  _ straight  _ up and down, i almost fell off the stage! why they didn’t just cancel that show, i’ll never know. but anyway-” jaemin popped a fry (from jeno’s plate) into his mouth and rolled his eyes. honestly, jeno wasn’t quite sure what his friend was talking about anymore. he was just happy to be back at their favorite diner after a long month of jaemin being off at sea, where, jeno learned, he’d met donghyuck. with jaemin being a professional dancer, his most common gig was on cruise ships, which meant that the pair could go weeks without seeing each other. but, jeno thought fondly, it always made their reunion that much sweeter, especially since jaemin always made sure to bring back wondrous tales of his adventures (like the time he got lost in the arcade).

but this time, jeno’s mind was elsewhere. all he wanted was for it to be the next day. at this point, he wasn’t afraid to admit that he was a bit scared of donghyuck, but he was also inexplicably drawn to him. something about those eyes… 

“jenoooo,” jaemin whined. “listen to me, i was just getting to the good part!”

“i am listening!”

“you were  _ not _ ,” jaemin crossed his arms and leaned back. “what was i talking about?”

“uh, hold on, let me think,” jeno tried to lock eyes with jaemin, but jaemin knew better. his eyes were closed.

“no cheating, you doofus,” the younger stuck his tongue out cheekily. “we made those rules for a reason and you know it.”

“hmph, fine.” jeno mirrored jaemin’s pose from across the table. “you done eating? we can head back to my place if you want.”

“i’ll pass this time, i kinda just want to knock out in my own bed right now,” jaemin yawned, really driving his point home. “i’ll see you tomorrow anyway, right? i’m bringing hyuck to the shop for his appointment.”

“my shift doesn’t start until 3, so maybe i’ll catch you if you pick him up after. either way, we’re still having dinner at my place, i didn’t spend the past month learning to cook for nothing.”

“a  _ proper  _ welcome back meal, i’ll definitely be looking forward to that,” jaemin’s eyes twinkled in delight. “just don’t set your oven on fire again and you’ll be golden.”

“that was one time!”

“one time too many.”

“fuck you.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

mark welcomed jeno to the start of his shift with a bright “hello, and welcome to balance tattoo and piercing parlor! what can we do for you today?”, which earned him a prompt towel to the face. oh, how jeno loved his job. 

but in all seriousness, jeno didn’t think he could’ve found a workplace that felt more like home than balance did. at this point, the four of them were family, and they acted like it too. whether it was because of taeil and doyoung bickering over how to decorate the shop or him and mark conspiring to mess with doyoung just to get a reaction out of him, the atmosphere of the shop was always warm and welcoming, a stark contrast to the other shops in the area. jeno knew they were lucky to have that bond, because that was what drew customers in and kept them coming back for more. but, unfortunately, he also knew that that bond was the only thing keeping them afloat. if word got out about who they really were, they could lose everything. 

but, for now, things were alright. the shop was busier today, buzzing with people from all walks of life hoping to change their bodies in ways that were meaningful to each one of them. jeno quickly took his spot behind the counter and proceeded to chat up the elderly couple in front of him. one glance was all it took for him to see just how in love they were, so he had no qualms at all about setting up a time for them to get matching tattoos. the couple had chosen and personalized a beautifully delicate design that was right up jeno’s alley, and he couldn’t wait for them to come back for their appointment. 

a bit of scheduling and a few piercings later, the shop had emptied out, except for one man working with doyoung to create a piece of art just for him. the two stopped to argue frequently, but jeno didn’t miss the gentle glances they threw each other when the other wasn’t looking. and wait, were those… matching rings? hm. jeno made a note to ask doyoung about that later. 

mark groaned and dropped his head on the counter. “long day?” jeno could sympathize. 

“nah, bad customers. i’ve had longer days, but something about that last lady…” mark shuddered. “she wanted her new husband’s name on her. in  _ comic sans _ .”

jeno winced. he’d had his fair share of unreasonable requests, but he was always able to figure out how to guide his customers onto a better path, even if they didn’t explicitly say what they wanted. mark, however, didn’t have that luxury. the most he could do was make them leave the shop, and even that was incredibly risky. “would some coffee help? the shop’s pretty empty now, i wouldn’t mind going on a quick run for you guys.”

mark met his eyes and jeno saw that coffee would, in fact, help. “the usual, then?” he chuckled.

“you know it,” mark couldn’t contain his excitement. 

“dope, okay, i’ll go ask taeil if he wants anything and then i’ll head out.” jeno made his way to taeil’s tattoo room and nearly jumped out of his skin when he spotted donghyuck. he’d forgotten about the younger man’s appointment.

“hey jen, you need something?” taeil didn’t even look up as he continued filling in the outlines on donghyuck’s forearm. 

“i was actually wondering if  _ you  _ needed anything. i’m grabbing coffee for mark, so i figured i’d see if you wanted some too.”

taeil sat up straight at the mention of coffee, cracking his neck. “that’d be amazing, just get me anything.”

“sounds good, i’ll be back in a bit,” jeno nodded, looking at donghyuck. “do… do you want anything?” god, this was annoying.

donghyuck smirked. “i thought my eyes would give it away, but yeah, i’d love some coffee. i’m down for anything too, i’m sure you can  _ read  _ me well enough to figure out something i’d like.”




\--------------------------------------------------------------

the next time jeno saw donghyuck, he was alone. he’d walked into the shop without jaemin, taking his time as he walked around the waiting room and looked at the photos on the walls. it took about 20 minutes for him to finally walk up to the counter with a blunt “i want another tattoo.”

“uh, sure, we can do that. what’d you want to get?” this time, jeno pointedly avoided donghyuck’s eyes, not entirely sure what to make of him yet. 

“your choice. all i’m gonna say is that i want it on my back, so it should definitely be kinda big.”

“so, would you want-”

“nope, you’re not allowed to ask me anything else. i trust you, i think you’ll know exactly what i want.”

that was it. jeno threw his pen down in frustration. “dude, what’s  _ up  _ with you? why’re you so cryptic all the time? it’s just annoying now.”

donghyuck studied him carefully. “i… i don’t think this is the right place. let’s talk somewhere else, i guess i do owe you an explanation at this point.”

“yeah, you do,” jeno muttered under his breath. “and if i don’t agree to talk?” he challenged. 

“it’s for your safety, not mine,” donghyuck shrugged. “it’s up to you.”

jeno sighed, running a hand down his face. “fine. but let’s get this appointment stuff figured out first.”

as luck would have it, the soonest time jeno was available was a week and a half away, which was equal parts relieving and nervewracking. on one hand, it meant that jeno would have time to get to know donghyuck a bit better, but it also meant he’d be locked into doing the tattoo even if they ended up hating each other. with a deep breath, he submitted the time slot into his schedule and locked his computer. “alright. where should we go?”

“coffee?” the corner of donghyuck’s mouth quirked upward. “you  _ did  _ manage to get my favorite drink last time.”

and that was how they found themselves seated across from each other, donghyuck sipping on an iced americano as jeno blew across the top of his hot chocolate in an attempt to cool it down. they sat in silence for a bit, not quite knowing where to start. jeno didn’t miss the way donghyuck looked at him, his eyes were inexplicably soft, but he tried not to dwell on it too much. eventually, their eyes met.

“do you know what i’m thinking about right now?” the sunkissed boy asked. jeno froze.

“no,” he answered carefully. “should i?”

“i know what you are, lee jeno,” donghyuck lowered his voice until it was barely a whisper. “i know  _ who  _ you are, and i’m not afraid.”

jeno sucked in a sharp breath. “tell me what you know.”

“i know you’re a mind reader. eyes are the key for you, they really are the windows into people’s souls, and you use that to know exactly what they want and make it happen. but what’s special about you is that you don’t have bad intentions. you truly just want the best for your customers, am i right?”

jeno nodded slowly. “but how’d you find out all of that?”

“jaemin told me a bit, but i filled in the rest of the blanks on my own. it wasn’t too hard to, after seeing you at work.” donghyuck took another sip from his almost-empty cup.

“but why doesn’t it work on  _ you _ ?” jeno blurted out. “no matter what i do, it’s like you won’t let yourself be read.”

“it’s kind of a long story,” donghyuck smiled wryly. “there’s two classes of powers, right? physical and mental. when i was born, the doctors found out i had both types, and my parents didn’t think they could handle a kid growing up with that much power. so, they had me stripped. i don’t have any powers anymore and i also can’t be controlled by anyone else’s. i can feel whenever someone tries to move me or get into my mind, but it just doesn’t work.”

jeno leaned in, curious. “doesn’t it get lonely? i guess you don’t quite fit in with normal people or people with powers.”

“yeah, i haven’t really found where i fit yet, which is why it was so great to meet jaemin. he obviously kinda gets what it’s like to have powers because of you, but he’s also just so… normal.”

“he’d kill you if he heard you call him normal,” jeno chuckled. the two sat in a more comfortable silence after that, taking time to process everything. 

“well,” jeno broke the silence slowly. “what if we got to know each other a bit more? it might make your next tattoo appointment less painfully awkward if we can actually talk since that’ll be a long session for sure.”

“i’d be down for that,” donghyuck laughed. “do you wanna catch a movie tomorrow night? i think there’s some good ones at the theater by my place.”

jeno grinned. “it’s a date.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

before they knew it, movie dates had become their thing. it left them prone to endless teasing from jaemin when one of them ditched him for the other, but everyone was generally satisfied with how things were going. the two of them seemed to be each other’s missing puzzle piece, and they were happy to nurture that connection.

but this time, jeno had decided to mix things up a bit. the two men were standing in jeno’s kitchen, ready to bake some cookies. the only issue: “hyuck, what kind of cookies do you like?”

“i’ll eat anything,” donghyuck shrugged. “you know that.”

“but hyuck,” jeno whined. “i want you to  _ like  _ them, not just tolerate them.” he tried to solidify eye contact with the other only to turn away, blushing, once he remembered that he was completely on his own.

donghyuck’s eyes had a hint of mischief in them as he challenged jeno. “why don’t you guess? you’ve always been able to read me even without your powers, i have faith in you.”

“...snickerdoodles?”

“bingo,” donghyuck smiled triumphantly. “see, you just gotta believe in yourself sometimes.”

but, between donghyuck and god, he didn’t even have a favorite cookie until jeno chose one.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

another day, another date. it was a dinner date this time, at donghyuck’s apartment. he’d dressed the table nicely and taken the time to cook jeno’s favorite foods and set them out before he arrived. jeno swore he fell in love as soon as he saw the fried rice on his plate, but donghyuck just blushed and hit him on the arm (maybe a bit harder than necessary). 

maybe it was the candles around them or simply each other’s presence, but the atmosphere in donghyuck’s dining room was beautifully warm as the two men talked over dinner, cracking jokes and sharing experiences, but above all, simply enjoying their time together. they didn’t even notice the passage of time until jeno checked his watch to find that it was already one in the morning. “oh, shoot, i should probably get going. i have a pretty important client tomorrow, i gotta be at my best for him,” jeno teased.

donghyuck blushed yet again (jeno was getting too good at that) when he remembered that  _ he  _ was jeno’s important client, but moved to clear their plates anyway. “yeah, i guess you should. just… stay safe, alright? text me when you get home.”

“don’t worry, you know i will.” jeno helped donghyuck move the dishes into his kitchen, whistling a little tune as they worked. eventually, they stood in the middle of the kitchen, empty dishes on the counters around them, but neither of them moving. 

“hey jeno?” donghyuck was oddly timid.

“yeah?”

“thank you.”

jeno was visibly taken aback. “for what? i should be thanking  _ you _ .”

“well, yeah,” donghyuck teased. “but really, thank you. you’ve accepted me and made me feel so safe around you, and you’re just a really great person to have around. thank you for letting me make a second home in you.”

“you’re incredible,” jeno breathed, and he closed the distance between the two of them to engulf donghyuck in a tight hug, hoping to show his affection through his actions rather than words. they fit together perfectly, donghyuck’s chin resting on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his neck, with jeno’s arms around his waist.  _ this is it,  _ jeno thought. 

they eventually had to part ways, and jeno rushed home, working late into the night to design exactly what he wanted donghyuck to have on his body forever. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

the day had come. donghyuck walked into jeno’s tattoo room with a confident smile on his face, in stark contrast to the nervous grimace wrinkling jeno’s features. 

“why the long face?” donghyuck joked. “should i cancel my appointment?”

jeno smiled shakily. “nah, i’m just really fucking nervous,” he decided to answer honestly. 

“well, we can’t have that,” donghyuck strode across the room to take jeno’s face in his hands. “i believe in you more than you know, and probably more than i should, considering we’ve only known each other for a few weeks now,” they both laughed at the confession. “but no matter what, i know i’ll love whatever you put on me. you  _ know  _ me, and you don’t even need your powers to do it.”

jeno was quiet as he listened, and he nodded slowly once donghyuck was done. “alright. let’s get started then. since you want this on your back, you’re gonna have to take your shirt off, so go ahead and do that and make yourself comfortable.”

to jeno’s surprise, donghyuck had no qualms about stripping his t-shirt off right in front of him, leaving him wide-eyed and breathless at the sight of donghyuck’s bare torso. donghyuck’s shyness from the night before returned as he flushed and moved to cover himself, but jeno held his arms and placed a light kiss to the inside of his wrist. “god, you’re beautiful,” he exhaled slowly and kissed donghyuck’s lips gently, like he was scared he’d break. he moved down, pressing his lips to the column od donghyuck’s neck, and then further to his chest. 

donghyuck pulled him away, giggling. “not now, lover boy. we have a tattoo to finish.”

“ugh, fine,” jeno groaned, pulling him in for one last hug. “go lie down.”

and jeno got to work. even though the purpose of their dates had originally been to make conversation easier during this very appointment, the pair were silent as jeno worked diligently, first outlining his design and then slowly filling it in. donghyuck fell asleep, lulled into comfort by the buzz of the needle and jeno’s gentle hands moving across his back. 

donghyuck woke up to jeno stroking his hair, admiring his handiwork. “wanna see what it looks like?” jeno nudged him, and donghyuck could tell he was nervous. he nodded, and accepted jeno’s offer of his arm to help him out of the chair. 

“i’ll tell you when to open your eyes, just trust me.”

donghyuck just nodded as he was led to the mirrors, placing full trust in jeno yet again. 

“okay. three, two, one, open.”

donghyuck gasped. starting right between his shoulder blades and fanning out across his entire back was an almost impossibly intricate set of wings. each feather had been painstakingly etched onto his skin, giving the appearance that he could actually take flight at any moment. he felt  _ majestic _ . 

jeno stood, watching his reaction. “you know, it’d be really helpful to be able to read your mind right now,” he joked, but still unable to hide the nerves in his voice. 

donghyuck only hugged him in response. “i love it,” he whispered. “they’re beautiful. thank you, jeno.”

jeno beamed and hugged him back, careful to avoid the freshly raw skin. “anything for you, my angel.” he kissed the top of donghyuck’s head. 

“your angel, huh?” donghyuck chuckled. “i’m not yours yet.”

“well, you’re about to be,” jeno grinned. “donghyuck, i know it hasn’t been very long since we met, but you’ve already made such a huge impact on me. you’ve helped me learn to trust myself when i don’t have my powers to rely on, and you’re such a ray of sunshine in my life. would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?”

“just a ray of sunshine? i’m the whole damn sun,” donghyuck teased. “but, yes, i’ll gladly be your angel. now kiss me before i change my mind.”

and kiss they did (that is, until taeil walked in. that poor man’s seen way too much).

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> this is pretty different from what i normally write so it was quite a challenge LOL, but i'm hoping to make this into a series later so let's see what happens
> 
> shoutout to admin bom for being absolutely amazing!!!!!! truly the backbone of this fest


End file.
